Gender Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute, the Liminality Consortium, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) UK’s Take Action Group
Proudly co-organized by the Gender Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute, the Liminality Consortium, and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) UK’s Take Action Group, this hybrid event screened “The Mind Game” in three locations in the UK and at the Geneva Graduate Institute and was followed by a panel discussion on border violence and xenophobic asylum procedures.
Directed by Els van Driel and Eefje Blankevoort, “The Mind Game” follows Sajid Khan Nasiri’s two-year-long journey from Afghanistan to Belgium and his experience in the Belgian asylum system as an unaccompanied minor.
The panel discussion which followed was chaired by Dr. Shirin Heidari (lead researcher with the Liminality Consortium and the Gender Centre) and was moderated by Dr. Christos Christou (International President of Médicins Sans Frontières). Those on the panel included Sajid Khan Nasiri (producer and protagonist), Sarah Harrison (Head of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Unit at the International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)), and Pieter Ventevogel (Senior Mental Health and Psychosocial Support officer in United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR)) in person, with Eefje Blankevoort (producer and director) and Cliff Speck (Child Protection Officer in United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR)) joining virtually. They discussed trauma, systemic violence and barriers to safety young refugees face. They then explored potential systemic approaches to reducing trauma for young people seeking sanctuary and having reliable access to support services in their destination country.
Read more about the Mind Game and the event